Birefringence of pure and doped lithium niobate crystals

摘要

The birefringence of the lithium niobate samples with different dopants is studied in visible and near-infrared spectral regions using a broadband light source, set of linear polarizers and VIS/NIR optical spectral analyzers. From the interference pattern observed behind the polarizer (one from the pair used) the dispersion of birefringence of the investigated samples is estimated. The results show that the dispersion of birefringence can be used for rapid and effective distinguishing among crystal samples of different origins.